Tow Haul on Ford F53

I also use it around town where there is a lot of stop and go, lights every 100 yards going through a city. You don't have to ride the brake as the tranny will slow you down.

ct78barnes wrote:
Had trouble with our even break on trip to Myrtle Beach and used the Tow button on the end of the shift lever for the first time and was it worked great and helped going down the mountains and stayed around 3,000 rpm . The one other time I tried to use it it went to over 4,000 rpm and I quit using it But I had to on this trip down and it only went to 4,000 rpm one time . It worked well most of the trip. Got the Even Break fixed but will now use it more since I have used it now. We have had our new coach for 3 years now and finding a new feature is fun. If you have a Ford F53 and have not tried it try it and do not wait for 3 years to try it like I did.

Here's some information on how the Tow/Haul mode works in the newer Torque Shift transmissions. It may help you understand why the engine went to 4,000 rpm.

1. Putting it in tow/haul does not lockout overdrive.

2. When in the tow/haul mode it does delay the upshifts somewhat and increases the oil flow through the transmission to keep the temperature down.

3. This also reduces the transmissions need to "hunt" for the proper gear when ascending hills.

4. When descending a hill if you take your foot off the accelerator the transmission will provide engine braking without the need to manually shift out of overdrive.

5. Also when descending a hill while in the tow/haul mode you can make the transmission shift to a lower gear by depressing and releasing the brake pedal. It will downshift to a lower gear about 1 second after releasing the brake pedal.

6. It will shift down another gear each time you depress and release the brake pedal as long as the Powertrain Control Module sees the engine will stay below the maximum RPM level.

7. It is not necessary to use the tow/haul mode when towing on flat ground.

All this information is included in a handout from a Ford factory rep who was giving a seminar on the features of the F53 chassis at the Winnebago Grand National Rally last month.

I found this thread very interesting. DW and I can't make up our minds about DP vs. Gas for our 1st MH and this has helped me to realize that a 37ft class A gasser (2015 Thor Challenger in our case) can, in fact, make it up and down a steep grade while towing a Honda CRV.

Thanks for all the help this is great reading

Thanks for all the help this is great reading

I'm a fairly old, old timer but I've learned that in modern vehicles the computer is way smarter than any driver can be. The days of low RPM torque engines are gone. The Ford V10 is a high winding, high torque and high horsepower gas engine that is built to run continuously at 5000 RPM. It may be noisy but it loves to run at high RPMs. The computer that controls the engine and transmission will not allow you to hurt the motor. Period. We've been in mountain situations where we are descending an 8% grade for miles and just let the computer handle the decent. TOW/HAUL mode in conjunction with cruise control is a great way to assure you are safe. Let the computer do it's thing. And yes! the engine may climb past 5000 RPM. Just get use to it and you will enjoy the reliability and power of this great engine.

I always thought it was just a consequence of weight. My Jeeps always seemed to kick down too soon on cruise with slight grades. I understand Five Star Tuning makes a difference by changing shift points.

Ok once one gets use to the almost intantaneous rpm increase. My complaint is the cruise control - exactly the same on our 2013 F53 as our previous 2005 E-450. Hit a slight grade and suddenly the transmission makes a dramatice downshift and the instantaneous rpm increase is more than a little disconcerting. Compared to my daily diesel SUV driver, Ford's cruise control system seems to have been developed in the dark ages!

We are almost always towing so use tow/haul all the time except when one of us forgets to turn it on. We remember on the first downgrade. Don't worry about the revs. Note that the tach has no red line on it. I understand that there is some type of rev limiter that won't allow it to over rev.

Last summer on I40 headed east thru North Carolina. East of Asheville there's a very long decent. Flashing lights, all truck pull over and such. Towing a Honda Accord with a Ready Brake tow bar. Top of the hill hit the brake for a bit until the transmission down shifted and the coach held steady a 55 or so the entire decent. Never touch the brake again. RPM peaked at about 3500. Bottom of the hill hit the resume on the cruise control, transmission up shifted and the coach accelerated up to my normal 62 and away we went.